Known for his expressive paintings of New England seascapes, Charles Herbert Woodbury also produced an extensive body of etchings and several widely-read books used in art education. Creating art was a lifelong career for Woodbury, who sold his first painting at the age of 15 and became the youngest member of the Boston Art Club at 17. It was at this time that he also began teaching art, another important vocation for Woodbury that would continue to occupy him until his death. As a teacher, Woodbury passed on his expertise to thousands of aspiring artists through his summer school of drawing and painting that he established in Ogunquit, Maine.

Woodbury was born on July 14, 1864 in Lynn, Massachusetts. His artistic inclination revealed itself early on, evidenced in childhood sketches and oil paintings completed in his adolescence that received acclaim from serious art groups in nearby Boston. In 1882, Woodbury began his studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Although it was clear that he had exceptional ability in the visual arts, he earned a degree in mechanical engineering. His years at MIT were not spent exclusively on scientific pursuits, as Woodbury later claimed to have been greatly influenced by the instruction in drawing that he received from Ross Sterling Turner.

Woodbury graduated in 1886 and set up a studio in Boston, out of which he also gave classes. One of the students he taught in this period was Marcia Oakes, and four years later, in 1890, they were married. It was Oakes, whose family home was in Maine, who brought Woodbury to the state where he would eventually establish his school. While the Massachusetts coast offered picturesque views of the sea, the shores of Maine attracted many artists like Woodbury who sought more remote, natural locations to draw their inspiration from. The Woodburys moved to a home in Ogunquit after the birth of their son, David, in 1896.

While Woodbury took up art education as an occupation at an early age, his own formal training was relatively limited. He took instruction at the Lynn Evening Drawing School and through the Boston Art Club around the time he was studying mechanical engineering at MIT. Later, in 1890, he took lessons at the Académie Julian in Paris during a European honeymoon with his new wife. At the Académie Julian, Woodbury studied under Gustave Boulanger and Jules Joseph Lefebvre.

In 1898, Woodbury held his first summer classes in Ogunquit, Maine. As Woodbury was already well-known in the Boston art scene for his own work, the classes were well-attended and would continue to be held almost every summer until 1940, the year of his death. Woodbury’s school was among several native to the coast of Maine that offered picturesque views of the ocean, but his classes attracted those aspiring artists that prescribed to a similar style of Impressionism. Hamilton Easter Field would follow Woodbury’s model in establishing a school in Ogunquit in 1911, Field’s school attracting artists with more avant-garde sensibilities.

As a teacher in his own school of art, Woodbury formed his own philosophies on painting that he passed on to his students, undoubtedly exerting significant influence on the generations of painters to follow. Aside from the students he mentored as an instructor at Wellesley, Dartmouth, the Art Institute of Chicago, and his Ogunquit school, Woodbury shared his artistic philosophy in three books: Painting and the Personal Equation (1919), Observation: Visual Training Through Drawing (1922), and The Art of Seeing (1925). With the constantly shifting sea as a frequent subject, Woodbury placed emphasis on capturing the effect of motion, in both his painting and his teaching. He was known to instruct his students to “paint in verbs, not in nouns,” a pithy piece of advice observable in Woodbury’s own, expressive sea paintings.

II. Chronology

1864 Born in Lynn, MA on July 14.1881 At 17, becomes the youngest honoree of the Boston Art Club.1882 Begins studies at MIT.1886 Graduates from MIT with a degree in mechanical engineering.1887 Takes a studio in Boston and teaches drawing.1888 First recorded visit to Ogunquit, ME.1890 Marries former student, Marcia Oakes. They travel together to Europe.1891 Studies at the Académie Julian under Boulanger and Lefebvre.1896 Moves to Ogunquit with Marcia after the birth of their son, David.1898 Founds his Ogunquit School.1906 Elected an associate of the National Academy of Design.1907 Elected full member of the National Academy of Design.1913 Death of wife, Marcia Oakes.1940 Dies in Jamaica Plain, MA on January 21.